After All This Time, Who Stands Before Me?
by TheFullmetalSociopath
Summary: It's been a decade since Elizabeth's beloved Ciel Phantomhive vanished without a trace. She hardly thinks about him anymore. That is, until a stranger that looks eerily similar to what Ciel would look like now passes her on the street. Who is this man? Could he really be the Earl? Rated T to be safe and for potential future gore. ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1: Fated

**Hello my dear readers!**

 **Now I know those of you who are waiting on the new chapter for my crossover fic (I am so sorry) will be mad at my being sidetracked, but I just watched Book of the Atlantic and I couldn't resist writing this. Plus, I had been brutally attacked by the writing block bunny, and so was my story His Butler, Deduced, so please wait for that side of this author to recover. Please read, review, follow, and favorite!**

 **Info: Takes place after Kuroshitsuji II, some slight spoilers for Book of the Atlantic. I know nothing about the manga so this is all based on the anime.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Black Butler. Kuroshitsuji. Whatever.**

* * *

 _After All This Time, Who Stands Before Me?_

Chapter 1: Fated

 _Elizabeth Midford_

Ten years after the mysterious disappearance of her beloved Ciel, Lizzy went on with life. She shopped with her friends, chatted with the nobles, and lived with a kind husband in a cute manor. It was like a dream come true. She almost never though of Ciel, and the way he left with nearly no warning, after such a long time. Yet as she walked down the streets of London on one of her many shopping trips, a man passed her that set her heart racing. No… it was not the man that startled her.

It was his eyes.

Cobalt blue, crystalline and stunning, pierced her heart. Time seemed to slow as she turned toward the passing man, raven haired, handsome and proud in appearance, wearing an eyepatch.

"Excuse me," she began, grabbing his sleeve. Somewhere in the back of her mind an alarm went off saying that this was improper behavior for a lady, but she didn't care. Could it be? Her Ciel? Was it even possible?

The man flinched and turned to her. "Yes?" he asked. "Who are you, and what have I done to deserve a wrinkled coat?" There was no hint of recognition in his eyes. _Of course,_ Lizzy thought to herself, _are you stupid? You haven't seen Ciel in a decade and you're harassing a random man who has blue eyes! Act like a proper, cute lady for once!_

Her heart sank. "S-sorry," she managed to stutter, looking down at her skirt. "I'm sorry. I mistook you for someone I used to know." Her husband tugged at her hand, sending a soft and concerned smile her way. She let him pull her down the street. He stopped in a vacant looking shop. The light that filtered through the clouded window made his chocolate hair look almost blonde, and his warm chocolate eyes seemed to shimmer with golden specks.

"Darling, what was that about? Are you alright?" he asked.

"Oh… yes Clarence I'm fine, he just reminded me of someone who I haven't seen for several years. Sorry if I worried you," she smiled, trying to convince him.

Clarence's eyes softened. "Of course," he said understandingly, "but at any rate let's go back home." Elizabeth nodded in agreement. She'd had enough of this annoyingly confusing city for one day.

-~0~-

 _Later that week, at a ball Elizabeth and Clarence hosted._

Elizabeth had always loved balls. The cute dresses, the kind faces, the new people she was privileged enough to meet. Yes, the people were her favorite part of it. So she went around to everyone she could, smiling and laughing and talking of both nothing and everything. _Ciel hated these kinds of things,_ she thought ruefully. She shook herself and returned to the conversation at hand. _Stop thinking about him, for heaven's sake!_ she reprimanded herself. She wasn't speaking about Ciel, she was speaking about… about…

What was the conversation about again?

She focused and brought herself out of her thoughts and back into the real world. An elderly woman in an extravagant dress was speaking, leaning in as if it were gossip. Ah yes! Gossip! They were gossiping about something, it was men at the ball wasn't it?

"Did you see that one over there with the blonde hair? I hear that-" the woman proceeded to spout a few trivial (and rather questionable) things about the man in question, and Lizzy had her answer. _Thank goodness,_ she thought, _how would it look if I forgot what we were talking about in the middle of a conversation?_

"My, my," she giggled in response to the woman's claims, "seems he's quite the playboy!"  
"Yes, but there's someone even more interesting that I met tonight," a well dressed woman said, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "He had black hair, startlingly blue eyes, and an eyepatch of all things!" Lizzy's heart nearly stopped. The man who looked like Ciel was here, the one she harassed on the street?

"And he was so mysterious," the woman continued with fervor. "He told me his name was Cassius Price, what a strange name! He wouldn't tell me anything about his family, occupation, anything! Was he even invited Elizabeth? Could you tell me what he's here for? I'm so curious now!"

"Oh…" Lizzy thought for a moment, remembering the guest list Clarence had handed her earlier that day. "Yes he was invited, but I don't remember why." The woman pouted at Lizzy, but seemed at least partly sated with the answer. However, she still opened her mouth to add something, but at that moment the music for a dance started. Quickly the women around her were led onto the floor, and as Elizabeth looked around for her husband she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to find none other than the man they had been talking about, Cassius Price.

He dipped his head in greeting and an aged butler, looking like a shadow behind Cassius, did the same. "May I have this dance, milady?" Cassius extended his hand.

Lizzy was more than startled, she was terrified. She was confused. Why would this man come up to her after she bothered him on the street? Who was he? And why exactly had he been invited to their ball? Well, there was only one way to find out: ask him herself. She took a deep breath and accepted his hand.

"Sir, I would love to."

* * *

 **Aaaaaaaaand this concludes the first chapter of "After All This Time, Who Stands Before Me?" Yay! Please review, follow, favorite, and check out my account! All reviews are read, considered, thanked, and replied to if possible. I would love to hear any questions, suggestions, and critique. I swear I will try to be timely with my updates, but I can make no promises. (Though reviews will help keep me motivated so more reviews=faster updates please please review if you want more story)**

 **Love you all!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **~TheFullmetalSociopath**


	2. Chapter 2: Hidden

**Hello again readers!**

 **I hope you're all enjoying this story. I am trying to lengthen my stories so please let me know what your average chapter length preferences are if you have any. Please read, review, follow, and favorite this story. And thank you, m1schiefmanaged, for the wonderful review and even replying to my PM! I love you all!**

 **Please enjoy the second chapter of my story!**

 **Disclaimer: Me no own.**

* * *

 _After All This Time, Who Stands Before Me?_

Chapter 2: Hidden

 _Elizabeth Midford_

As she took Cassius's gloved hand and stared into his blue eyes, in that moment she felt he was both familiar and alien to her at the same time. _You've only just met him,_ she scolded herself, _why would he be familiar?_

The gentleman led her to the ballroom floor, and they began to waltz to the music. It was only then, amid the bright colors of the clothing her other guests wore, that she noticed how strangely Mr. Price was dressed. He was in all black clothing, head to toe, and had Elizabeth not already dismissed the idea of this man being her long lost Ciel, she might have seen this as a sign that maybe this was him. And _his eye_ , the color had first struck her, but now as she looked she thought she could see something deeper, a sadness and great emptiness, almost as if….

A silky voice interrupted her thoughts, tinged with amusement.

"Lady Elizabeth, I do believe it may be unladylike to stare into a strange man's eye without making an attempt at conversation," Cassius said. Elizabeth started. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Get ahold of yourself!_

"Oh," she giggled abashedly, trying to hide her frustration. _Heavens, do what you set out to._ Internally she sighed. _Might as well be direct with it._ "I'm terribly sorry. It may be rude of me to ask, but why might you be here? I don't recall exactly why we invited you. I'm oh-so horrible with remembering these things!" she exclaimed.

Cassius seemed slightly taken aback by this, but he hid it well. There was only a twitch of the eye, a slight frown that was so miniscule Lizzy though she may have imagined it. "Well, your husband invited me here for business reasons, which we will attend to during after dinner. But I am sure a lady such as yourself wouldn't want to know such boring details," he replied with a placating smile. Oh, how she could have strangled this man. She hated being left out of important things like this, and she couldn't shake the feeling that this man was hiding something. Yet, she couldn't say such things. What if…

Yes…

That's it…

She'll just overhear the meeting at dinner, or maybe she'll pass by them afterwards- for the entirety of the conversation. She would find a way to be subtle about learning about this, since neither her husband or the stranger she was dancing with seemed to want to tell her…

A pinch in her shoe. Hard. Painful. Cassius just stepped on her toe.

"Ouch!" she whimpered, pausing for a moment in the dance. "Did you ever learn to dance?" Cassius's face was lit up with guilt, but as he went to apologize the music ended, and Lizzy needed no other reason to speed off in search of someone of better company. As she walked away she cast a backward glance over her shoulder, and she could have sworn that Cassius's butler was laughing at his master. How improper, the both of them! Cassius Price was obviously a businessman with no status, and here he was at their ball waltzing like an imbecile! Why did a man such as him have a butler in the first place? She had to calm herself before talking to the other guests. Oh, what an unruly guest!

If only she had known what would happen next….

-~0~-

 _At dinner, that night._

Voices murmured, rising and falling like the tides of the sea. But Elizabeth only cared about the conversational closest to her, the one between her husband Clarence Knightly, and the ever mysterious stranger Cassius Price.

"So, about the deal," her husband said, "you still agree to all of the previous terms?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Very good, shall we confirm the final details and seal the deal afterward dinner?"

"Yes, but we could speed things up a bit."

"Very well. Now…" Clarence trailed off and stood after his rather vague conversation that only served to further frustrate Elizabeth, and addressed the crowd. "I hope all of you have enjoyed the meal, and enjoyed the night!" he declared. "I hate to draw the party to an early end, but I am not feeling well, and I think I might retire." That was met with both sympathetic and disappointed mutterings. "Goodbye, all of you, and thank you for coming!" he ended jovially, and exited the room. This made Lizzy uneasy. He was lying to his guests and she couldn't help but feel this deal was questionable at best, and at worst… No, such a kind husband wouldn't be like that. Would he?

A few moments after Clarence left, Cassius disappeared from the crowd of leaving guests, undoubtedly to meet with her husband. She followed him silently through the hallways, finally arriving at her husband's study. For a split second as Cassius entered the room he looked over his shoulder, and Lizzy barely had enough time to dive behind the corner she was just rounding. She held her breath, hoping against hope that he didn't see her. For a tense moment everything was totally silent.

Then she heard footsteps.

Receding, fading, going into the study.

 _Thank God_ , Elizabeth thought. She'd thought she would be caught.

She crept to the door, where candlelight was spilling out through the narrow crack. Peering inside, she almost didn't believe her eyes. Almost. At least, she wished she hadn't seen.

Where the bookshelf used to be was a gaping doorway, leading down with a dark stone staircase. Cassius vanished down into the passageway, and Lizzy knew she had to follow suit. Countless thoughts swirled through her mind. _What is this? Where does it lead? What purpose is it for?_ But the most pressing question was this: what exactly was her husband doing behind her back?

Her first question was answered the minute she stepped foot in the study. As she stared at the dark gothic wallpaper, it suddenly occurred to her what family this house had previously belonged to. How could it have slipped her mind? Ten years ago the head of the Phantomhive house disappeared, and was rumoured dead. In light of that, his estate was sold off within a year, and the servants of the household remained to tend it. Knowing the Phantomhive legacy, was it really so surprising that there would be a passage like this in the study? Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder how many more passages like this existed in the mansion.

Still, her husband had lied to her, kept things from her. Had this situation not required stealth Lizzy was sure she would have charged downstairs and demanded answers. She kept her anger in check and moved quietly down the stairs, into a cold and dark hallway lit by a scattering of candles by a door at the far wall. She arrived just as it was closing, and slipped inside barely a moment before the heavy oak door shut. Much to her surprise the room she had just entered was brightly lit, and lavishly furnished. There were stone pillars bordering the walls, and she hurriedly dove behind one when she realized she could be seen at any moment by the two men sitting at the center of the room.

Clarence and Cassius had obviously just sat down, and were engaging in an intense discussion. Lizzy focused enough to hear what they could say.

She very much wished she hadn't.

* * *

 **Whew! How about that chapter?**

 **I really hope I'm bringing the quality content you're all asking for! Please read, review, favorite, and follow my story. Stay tuned for the third chapter!**

 **Thank you all,**

 **~TheFullmetalSociopath**


	3. Chapter 3: Planned

**Alrighty then.**

 **Chapter 3.**

 **How about I skip the formalities and go straight into it?**

 **Please read/review/favorite/follow**

 **Now onto the story, I'm sure you've all been waiting…**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **No**_ **I don't own it. At all. Not even a little.**

* * *

 _After All This Time, Who Stands Before Me?_

Chapter 3: Planned

 _Elizabeth Midford_

Voices came into focus, cold and calculating. Both now foreign to her ears, even though she had been listening to one for the past years constantly, lovingly. Now it was unrecognizable in its greed, its malice, its cold pride.

"So, the shipment is here?" her husband leaned forward.

"Not yet. There was a delay," Cassius replied, seeming reserved.

"What _kind_ of delay?" Clarence demanded angrily.

"I am not at liberty to say." Now Elizabeth was sure he was doing it to spite Clarence. _Good,_ she thought, _let life be hard for this lying bastard._

Her husband leapt to his feet, red faced at the impertinence of a man he considered to be his underling, a mere pawn. "You watch your damn tongue, lowlife, before I cut it off! You are not at _liberty_ to keep a thing from me!" Cassius only smiled serenely, looking entertained by Clarence's fury. If it was at all possible, Mr. Knightly's face reddened even further. "I _demand_ you tell me! Now!" His voice had raised to almost a shout, and the prideful man, whose demeanor had once been of humble kindness and patience, shook with barely contained rage. Cassius's smile only widened into what can only be described as a devilish grin.

"Your _lordship_ ," he spoke the title with a mocking tone, "in accordance with a _polite_ request on your part I will tell you _precisely_ what happened."

" _WHAT?! I'LL-"_

"Now, now," Cassius interrupted him. "Do you want to know how your largest shipment of drugs, illegal weapons, black market goods, and your entire criminal franchise was diverted, or what?" Elizabeth had to stifle a gasp. Her Clarence, in dealings like that? The ringmaster, no less? Who exactly was the man she had married?

"But I pay you to stop things like that!"

"Then wouldn't you like to know exactly which force stopped me from fulfilling my job?" The dark stranger's smile never left him. It was beginning to look sinister to Elizabeth, and so was the dangerous gleam in his eye. After a moment of what looked like internal debate Clarence sat down and gave Cassius his consent to continue.

"It came when we came to port. In London."

"What came?" Elizabeth could tell that Clarence had taken the bait, and Cassius's smirk still grew. He sat back, contented, and continued with his explanation.

"If you ask the sailors of the ship, I'm sure they'll say it was a shadow in the night, or a murderous spirit. Ask the people who live near the port, and I am sure they will say it was an avenging angel."

"Now what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? Are you trying to be cryptic with me? That didn't answer my question!" Cassius was about to retort when Clarence sat up, noticing something. His expression clouded in confusion. This piqued Cassius's interest and caused him to stay silent a moment longer. A minute later Clarence voiced his thoughts.

"Since when did you have an eyepatch?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I know this is our first meeting, but I have heard detailed descriptions of you, so I would know who to approach at the party." Lizzy wondered at this turn of events. What exactly was her husband implying? "So," he continued, "why would it be left out that you had such a discernible trait?" Cassius's smile melted off his face.

"I'm afraid I don't follow, Sir." Clarence's eyes narrowed, recognizing the man's now cautious attitude.

"I am saying you are not who you claim to be Mr. _Cassius Price._ Reveal your identity at once!" he commanded smugly. Elizabeth's head spun. So many revelations in such a short time was almost too much to handle.

Almost.

"Hmph," Cassius, no… the man, whoever he was, stood. "So you're not so dull as I had first hoped. Ah, well, I suppose plan B will also work just fine."

"And what exactly is that? While you're at it, lowlife, how about telling me your name?"

The eye patched man lowered his head, debating something. Elizabeth could have sworn his eye flicked in her direction, but there was no reaction to her presence. It must have been her imagination. He raised his head, now looking resigned and grim. What was with this sudden change of demeanor? The man stepped forward menacingly, and began to explain himself.

"I am an investigator for her Majesty, and the what brought you to her attention was a series of unexplainable deaths. After a bit of digging it was revealed that they all had one thing in common. Have you any idea what that is?" Clarence was given no chance to respond: the newly dubbed investigator continued without pause. "Your drug. The experimental new product on the market, which is _oh so popular_. It was very easy to track it to your doorstep. So I was sent to take care of the situation" He now stood nose-to-nose with Clarence, and Clarence's face was filled with fear.

"W-who are you?" he asked shakily. "How could you have traced it back to me? I hid my involvement perfectly! I even married a woman from the house of knights! I was totally clear of suspicion!" Oh, that explained it all. Just that one statement. He had married her to clear himself of any suspicion. How cold. Elizabeth was close to tears, but she bit them back. Now was not the time for emotion.

Now in response to Clarence, the man sighed heavily, and then did something that sent Elizabeth's blood cold.

He stared straight at her.

She had been found out.

But wait, this didn't add up. He must have known she was there earlier if he had looked at her precise location now. If so, why wouldn't he say anything, and why did he only acknowledge her now? Wouldn't he want his dealings a secret? A terrible thought occurred to Elizabeth: _Is he going to kill me?_

Through all of her swirling thoughts a voice called her name. She looked up to the man in an eyepatch, who spoke to her.

"Elizabeth, I do believe you deserve to know the whole truth of this situation, and be allowed to enact your own judgement based on that knowledge. You married a man in good faith, and he lied to you the entire time, hiding his true nature. Please come stand before him." She swallowed nervously. She had such a bad feeling about this. Why did this man act so respectfully, and even familiarly towards her? She stepped forward, her heart in her throat, and continued until she stood beside the strange man.

He turned back to her husband, looking at him with a dark gaze. Slowly, he reached up to his eye, and lifted the eyepatch off of his head. Clarence stiffened in horror and Lizzy leapt forward to see for herself what had scared him. She couldn't believe her eyes. Where this man's pupil should have been was a glowing pentagram, which turned his iris purple. As she stared, he smiled ruefully at her, and something even more unbelievable happened. His normal eye flashed red for a split second, blood red crimson with a slitted pupil. Elizabeth thought hard. She had seen this once before, but it had been her imagination, hadn't it, those ten years ago? As she stood still and utterly speechless the man in front of her made a simple statement that shattered Elizabeth's whole world.

"My name is Ciel Phantomhive, and I am so sorry, Lizzy."

* * *

 **Woohoo Chapter 3 is finished!**

 **So what did you guys think? Feel free to review this story to tell me! (and please, please do)**

 **Also make sure to follow and favorite!**

 **I think I've said this in earlier chapters, but your reviews are very important to my writing. The more feedback I get the more motivated I will be to churn out a new chapter for my dear readers, so reviewing will only serve to benefit you guys! Got it? Okay? Yay!**

 **Thank you all so much for reading!**

 **~TheFullmetalSociopath**


	4. Chapter 4: Missed

**Hello there!**

 **I am so grateful for all of you reading my story, and I hope that you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Please read, review, follow, and favorite! If you have any suggestions or questions about the plot so far I am trying to explain it and work out the bugs, so review or PM me to ask. All questions appreciated. Again, I am going to thank m1shciefmanaged for reviewing. Also Esmereilda! Thank you both!**

 **(No but guys seriously. You comment = I write faster = win/win! Please review. I love getting feedback.)**

 **Please enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Not my thing. Someone else's thing. I just like thing, so I write about thing.**

* * *

 _After All This Time, Who Stands Before Me?_

Chapter 4: Missed

 _Ciel Phantomhive_

"My name is Ciel Phantomhive, and I am so sorry, Lizzy," Ciel wanted to say more, but just admitting who he was to Lizzy seemed to steal the breath from his chest and wilt his heart, however twisted his soul had become. Contrary to his belief decades ago, a demon could indeed feel emotions just as a human could. There was so much he wanted to say to his former fiance. He wanted to say he was sorry for leaving, for staying away, for only coming back for an assignment from the queen, and for lying about his identity when he came back. Yet he couldn't, and as his voice failed him Lizzy was the first to react.

She slapped him hard across the cheek, and he looked at her in surprise. She looked at him with those huge green eyes, her blonde hair perfectly curled as it always was, and he saw her eyes begin to fill with tears.

"Why did you leave?" she asked, her voice shaky. She was on the verge of tears.

"I…" What was he supposed to say? Sorry, I was turned into a demon and thought it best to stay away while Sebastian made sure I knew how to deal with my new power? Sorry, I had no idea my dog of a butler would take ten years in doing so. Sorry, I didn't come back sooner? None of those quite fit, and altogether would be extremely hard to explain to Lizzy, who hadn't even known about Ciel's demon contract. What would he say?

"It's hard to explain," was all he could manage. Lizzy wouldn't accept it.

"That's not good enough! Why? Where did you go? Why did you come back only now?" Now Lizzy really _was_ crying, and Ciel was close to panic. He had no idea what to do when people were upset. He reached out to her in an attempt to comfort her.

That was a mistake.

Mr. Knightly, who had been forgotten in the midst of the reunion, took that as his chance to get out of his bleak situation. He grabbed Ciel's right hand and twisted it behind his back, twirling the lean man in front of himself. This was unexpected. In the split second when his body was still being pulled in front of the rash man his mind raced, trying to figure out why he had done such a thing. If he was trying to take a hostage to get himself out, why would he go for Ciel, who was far more intimidating. _Oh, but that's not his aim,_ Ciel thought. _He wants to kill me, and figures he can keep his wife quiet. What a quiet end to this situation for him._ He smiled inwardly. This would be fun.

He felt the bones of his arm snap as Mr. Knighly pulled it tight behind his back. Ciel gave an involuntary shout of pain, or so would have seemed to the others. He needed his opponent to underestimate him, think that he had the upper hand. The first step was to show pain. Lizzy covered her mouth and moved to step forward and help Ciel, but was stopped by a harsh snarl in Ciel's ear.

"Another step and your long lost beloved dies," Clarence growled, pressing the cold metal of a knife to Ciel's throat. "Now Mr. _Phantomhive_ , you're going to answer my questions." He licked his lips and the hot breath on Ciel's ear made him want to shudder, but he stayed still. "Each. And. Every. One," his momentary captor was savoring his words, emphasizing every one. Ciel should have anticipated this earlier. A man such as this wouldn't let such a valuable source of information die so easily.

"What made you assume I would tell you anything?"

"Do you have any value for your own life, scum?"

"Not at all it seems, your _lordship,_ " Ciel was trying to get this man irritated, make him the first to strike, make him blinded by anger. He had already observed that he was short tempered when he was outwitted or toyed with. But he made no change at Ciel's jab. Why was that? Ciel had missed something.

Suddenly, a large suited man appeared from the doorway and grabbed Lizzy from behind, holding a gun to her head. Now Ciel was the angry one. How dare, how _dare_ , they touch her? His ears roared and he was sure his eyes flashed red. Yet he managed to swallow every emotion that was bubbling to the surface, his anger, his panic, and analyzed his situation. How had Clarence gotten word to his guard? Ciel's eyes searched the room until they came to rest at a spot below the table. A red buzzer wired to the bottom, within easy reach of the crime lord. How stupid Ciel had been not to see it sooner. He had complicated this situation more than he thought was even possible.

"Now I'm going to ask you again, and think very carefully about this," Clarence declared. "Tell me everything, or Elizabeth dies."

"No love for the spouse, eh?"

"Everything, _now_ , and no more stupid comments if you want her to live." Ciel closed his eyes for a moment. He could easily kill both of them before they could even move, but where would that leave Lizzy? In a sea of blood, terrified of him? Calling Sebastian to do the job was out of the question: the elder demon would find it _so_ amusing that Ciel had managed to wind up in this situation. Maybe this was for the best. If Ciel could get Lizzy out of this as cleanly as possible while explaining himself to her, he would just tell Clarence everything. He'd had no intention of letting the two-face live anyway, so what was the harm?

He took a deep breath, his sullied blue eyes never leaving Lizzy's pure green ones.

Then Ciel hesitated, "Are you sure you want _everything?_ " he inquired.

"Yes, or the girl dies."

"You're sure?"

"Just start!" Clarence snapped. Ciel stayed silent for a moment longer. If he was going to use this to explain his situation to Lizzy, he would just start with when he left. Her eyes cut into him, begging for answers. So he began to speak.

"Ten years ago I left the Phantomhive estate because of an accident that occurred as a result of my rivalry with another noble. After tha-"

"Wait!" Clarence exclaimed. "What sort of accident? That makes no sense! Why would you leave your manor due to an accident?" This man was very much beginning to get on Ciel's nerves. He really hadn't wanted to go into detail on _that_ event, but he supposed he would have to…

Ciel grit his teeth and elaborated on his encounter with that blasted Alois Trancy as simply as he could. "I had a rivalry with another noble who had made a demon deal, like myself. Both of our demons also fought, and due to certain circumstances the other noble signed a new contract to twist my soul and turn it from a human one into a demon one. The demon I had a contract with was then bound to me perpetually, and we both agreed it best to _acclimate_ me to my new condition away from those I was close to." Every single person in the room looked totally and utterly lost, except for Lizzy, who seemed to be piecing things together in her mind. _Good,_ Ciel thought, _you're the only one I need to understand me._

"Quit with your fiction, that can't possibly be true!" Clarence said.

"You saw the contract seal on my eye," Ciel responded.

Mr. Knightly seemed frustrated. "Whatever! Get to why you came here! How did you find me?"

"Oh, that… well…"

" _Get on with it!"_ the crime lord nearly yelled. Ciel really wanted to beat his face in. Badly.

"I came because Her Majesty asked me to do so, as I said earlier. A series of mysterious deaths were linked to a questionable inn, which was linked to an even more questionable store, which led to a dark port and a shipment of drugs. Someone may have told me information along the way, but that is the basics of how I tracked you down. You _crime lords_ could certainly do a better job covering your tracks."

"Shut up! Is that all?" Clarence barked.

"Yes, I believe so."

"Well, in that case…" the crime lord's voice had a triumphant, sly sound to it. "I'll just kill you, since your usefulness has been outlived." Ciel wasn't at all surprised by that proposition, in fact, were he in this man's position, he would have probably done the same. But Lizzy's face filled with horror when she heard that, and had she not been rooted to the spot by terror and gunpoint, she would have rushed forward to help Ciel.

So it was like that, with Lizzy watching in silent suffering, that husband drew back his arm, and brought down his knife on Ciel's neck with a vicious fervor only seen in madmen. Ciel smiled to himself. This would be entertaining, at least.

-~0~-

 _Elizabeth Midford_

Elizabeth braced herself as Clarence stabbed at Ciel, knowing this would be the end of her short lived reunion with her fiance.

Then Clarence flew back, his body thrown against the wall with such force his back cracked and he fell to the ground, his upper body writhing in agony where his lower limbs no longer could. Where the sharply dressed Ciel from the ball had been was now an unrecognizable blur of back that sped past Lizzy with such speed it lifted her hair with a gust of wind. All of a sudden the pressure of the gun on her back was released, and she heard a wet thud and a crack of bones behind her. She did not want to turn around, but she couldn't help herself.

The image that greeted her eyes was Ciel standing over the mangled body of a burly man at last twice his size. She swallowed her terror as best she could, but as Ciel turned to her his eyes were almost totally unrecognizable. They were still blue, but she saw an emptiness, a hole where emotion should have been, the emotion she had seen only minutes earlier. This was no longer the Ciel she had known as a child. This was someone… no… _something_ new.

So why did she feel love for him the same, even after he killed a man in such a way?

Ciel strode past her and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to the immobile Clarence Knightly. His breathing was shallow and his back was obviously broken, paralyzed from the waist down. Once Elizabeth was in front of Clarence, Ciel addressed her, "Lizzy, this man lied to you for a very long time, ran a criminal organization, and married you only to keep that organization from being discovered and to clear himself from suspicion. He has killed many people and was simply using you." His eyes cut her to the core, asking the question more sincerely than any words could. "I told you earlier that it was your judgement that would be used here. He will still live with this injury, even though he will never be able to walk again. What will you do?" he asked. She knew he was going to. How like Ciel, to be gentlemanly even in discussing a man's fate.

Of course, it's not like Lizzy was much more innocent.

After she had thought it through and been threatened by the man she had once devoted her love to, her heart turned cold and hard when she looked at Clarence. This man may have been of noble blood, but he was worse than the horse manure on the streets. In Lizzy's eyes he was evil and needed to be eliminated. Her training was kicking in, she could feel it. So he did the only thing she could think of.

There was a sword hanging on the wall near to her, and she quickly pulled it down. She swung it swiftly, testing the weight. Elizabeth eyed her former husband with detachment and distaste, and plunged her sword into his heart.

-~0~-

 _Ciel Phantomhive_

To say Ciel was surprised would be an understatement. Though, however surprised he had been couldn't compare to how much he respected Lizzy for what she had done. It was the logical thing to do, and she had acted with precision and a cool head. Still, Ciel somehow managed to feel terrible. Was it his fault that Lizzy had done this? _Yes, of course._ Would Lizzy be changed by this, that was the question.

"Oh," a voice laced with melancholy startled him from his pondering. "My dress is all bloody. How uncute."

He turned to see Lizzy facing him, wringing her hands as if she were still a child. He wanted to apologize, the guilt at what he had led her to do was now eating away at him, against his better judgement.

"Lizzy I-"

"No, you don't have to apologize," she sniffled. "This was my own choice. Thank you for showing me who he really was." She peered at him intently. "And thank you for coming back."

Ciel was speechless. He had never expected her to be kind toward him after killing two men. Didn't she think he was a monster?

"Why?" he asked. He just couldn't believe that she still wanted him.

"Because," she smiled, and suddenly threw her arms around Ciel. "I missed you!" she cried.

* * *

 **Chapter 4 is completed.**

 **Yay?**

 **This chapter was probably about 2x the normal length, so please, if you liked this length more, want it longer, or shorter, please let me know! Don't forget to review, follow, and favorite! Please also let me know any errors I made, inconsistencies, or questions you have. Thank you all for reading and I hope you'll stay tuned for Chapter 5!**

 **Lots of love to all my readers!**

 **~TheFullmetalSociopath**

 **(P.S. Please note that I am trying to portray Ciel a little more emotionally than he usually is shown in the series. I don't intend this to be OOC, I just think that in the circumstances of this fic he very well could have gotten more emotional due to… stuff… that will come to light later.)**


	5. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**NOTICE: IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**

 **Hello my dear readers!**

 **Oh, it breaks my heart to have to do this.**

 **I know you've all been reading and enjoying this story, and I just can't thank you all enough for even considering to read it, let alone the praise I have gotten. I really loved writing this story, but I am afraid I am going to have to put this on an indefinite hiatus. I wanted to be an outlet and a way to practice my writing and get feedback without worrying about any of my original ideas being stolen, and it has done just that. However, it has come to my attention that if I ever want to publish the work that I have had in my mind for a good two years, I need to start at some point. I can never, ever thank you all enough, and I can never apologize enough. I have read more than my fair share of great stories that were discontinued with no notice and no explanation, so I at least wanted to give you that. Please wish me luck, and I hope to come back to these stories in the future!**

 **Lots of love,**

 **~TheFullmetalSocipath**


End file.
